Case Study #10
This nighttime crash occurred about 9 PM on a lake and involved four snowmobiles. Snowmobiles 1 and 2 had male operators; the operator of snowmobile #2 had his girlfriend riding double behind him. The two operators decided they wanted to race across the lake; the girlfriend said ‘no way with her on the back, drop me off.’ So driver #2 dropped his girlfriend off, on the ice in the middle of the lake. She was wearing a maroon jacket, brown Carhartt coveralls, and she kept her helmet on. Snowmobiles 1 and 2 left and went racing across the lake. While they were gone, snowmobiles 3 and 4 (not associated with 1 and 2, and operated by a boyfriend and girlfriend) came across the lake at a high rate of speed. Snowmobile #3 operated by the male struck the female standing on the ice (#2’s girlfriend), killing her. (Photos 1, 2, 3) The impact caused the body of the female to be thrown directly over the hood of the snowmobile (Photo 4) and into the upper body area of operator #3, throwing him off the machine and seriously injuring him. His machine continued approximately 450 feet after impact in a straight line. The investigation showed that he was operating at a high rate of speed (no speed limit on the lake) and that alcohol consumption was a contributing factor. Due to the time of day (night), the high rate of speed, and the dark color of clothing the victim was wearing, there was no way that he could have seen her prior to impact to take evasive action.